Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Jun 21, 2008 3:29 pm Hi,
I'm just wondering what the minimum number of ducted heating vents is to zone a house. I'm still struggling to get my head around my electrical appointment. Our house is 36 sq. It has 13 ducted heating vents, which doesn't seem enough for me. Anyway the electrical woman said that to zone there has to be a minimum of 9 vents on zone 1 so there was no point zoning. What??!? No point zoning a 36 sq house? When is there a point to zoning? What the hell? I really think I may simply ask for another electrical consult as I'm really unhappy. How did everyone else's zoning work? Jo I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 2Jun 21, 2008 4:37 pm I dont understand that at all, Joles.
Our house is much smaller than that, 166m2 living area, not sure what that is in squares, and we are getting reverse cycle aircon that will be zoned into 5 zones, all able to be operated independently, although a minimum of 3 outlets (any 3) will need to run at at a time. The 3 bedrooms and the lounge will each be a small zone, I think one outlet each, and the open space family/kit/dine one large zone, I think 4 outlets, this is a total of 8 outlets ( or ceiling vents.) In other words, a minimum of 3 vents need to run at a time, if you run 3 small zones, or 4 vents if you run large zone on its own Mitsubishi brand unit, if that makes any difference. Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 3Jun 21, 2008 5:05 pm joles Anyway the electrical woman said that to zone there has to be a minimum of 9 vents on zone 1 so there was no point zoning. What??!? No point zoning a 36 sq house? When is there a point to zoning? What the hell? Tell her she's talking crap....we just replaced our central heating unit and the heating company said you need at least three vents on a zone. We have a modest 250 sq.m home and we have separate zones for the kid's bedrooms. Didn't want the bub to be sleeping with the heating on....SIDS and all that. I would recommend ringing up a specialist heating supplier and getting some free advice rather than relying on the "electrical woman" better yet find out who actually installs the heating for your house and talk directly to them - which we did - and that way they have an interest in offering free advice. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 4Jun 21, 2008 5:35 pm I believe the minimum number of outlets being open is somewhat determined by the size of the heating unit being installed. If I remember correctly we were required to have a minimum of six outlets on the main zone i.e. these cannot be shutoff with zone motors. We’ve a total of eighteen outlets in our place with three zone motors. The zone motors were around $80.00 each, I remember thinking at the time they were quite reasonably priced. So long as you have the minimum number of vents open, then how many vents on a zone is really up to you, and of course the limitation of the controller with regards to the number of zone motors it can control. Our one for instance can control four.
A call to the heating company will soon put any questions you have to bed. Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 5Jun 21, 2008 7:26 pm Hey Jo, our house is about the same size as yours (single story), we are getting the Brivis HE30i unit and we have 12 points and 4 zones.
The main zone has 3 outlets on a any one time, which are the Kitchen, Living area and Meal/Dining area. Then BR1, Ensuite, Study and kids playroom/lounge room is another zone. Then BR2,3 &4 plus bathroom is another zone and our theatre has a zone to itself. Zone motors were about $200 each for us. Your consultant is talking crap, sorry, don't believe her. You can get independant advice too, but i'd suggest if you can, that you upload a pic of your plan so that we can provide suggestions and help you in deciding how to zone the house? If you are not happy, then talk to someone else. Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 6Jun 21, 2008 7:52 pm Thanks Phoenix and everyone,
Not overly knowledgable about electrical so just wanted to make sure I wasn't on the wrong track. I can't upload a plan but it's basically the same as Anne's up in Bribie Island. I know pretty much where I want the zones. I have already done an electrical appointment before for another M house that we had to change. (It was two storey, we had to go to single.) Having done it before with someone that was brilliant, I realise just how bad this consult was. I've decided that I'll get onto our original consultant for the first house and see what he can do. If not, I'll tell M I'm not prepared to go to contract unless we have another electrical consultation. The frustrating thing is I made her job as easy as possible. Powerpoint, downlight, floodlight etc placement was already decided before we got there. I had each room written out with placement etc. All she had to help us with was the heating. She had to check EVERYTHING with someone else so I don't understand exactly what she was an expert in. I hope after Monday M will get the idea to send me to their best people or don't bother to book appointments for me at all. I'm really p***** off but I am following my own advice from a previous post and remaining calm and going through things logically and calmly. Jo I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 7Jun 21, 2008 8:42 pm joles She had to check EVERYTHING with someone else so I don't understand exactly what she was an expert in. Something off the www I found a while ago. The word expert pronounced phonetically is eksspurt. Broken up into two syllables you have ex and spurt. An ex can be defined as "A has been" and a spurt is a "drip under pressure". Therefore an expert can be defined as "A has been drip under pressure". Entirely unhelpful but hopefully lightening your mood..... mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 8Jun 21, 2008 11:35 pm **Phoenix** Hey Jo, our house is about the same size as yours (single story), we are getting the Brivis HE30i unit and we have 12 points and 4 zones. The main zone has 3 outlets on a any one time, which are the Kitchen, Living area and Meal/Dining area. Then BR1, Ensuite, Study and kids playroom/lounge room is another zone. Then BR2,3 &4 plus bathroom is another zone and our theatre has a zone to itself. Zone motors were about $200 each for us. You got a good deal (or I got a bad one!!) We are getting the same unit, and my builder is charging $367 per zone Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 9Jun 22, 2008 5:32 pm Hi Jo,
I've been reading your posts on the electrical meeting with great interest. This is something you have to get right from the start because it will cost you big $$$ to get an electrican/heating guys in the future to upgrade or change things around. If the heating is not done correctly eg zoned and adequate vent size, your house will never feel really cozy and warm. Our last house had poorly fitted ducted heating and never worked properly from day one even though countless experts came out...ducts were too small etc Unless you get another person for the eletrical appointment who is capable of answering your questions in a professional manner then you may have to look elsewhere. Customer service seems to be lacking in these big companies but unfortunately they have a good product that people want. So I would try and get another electrical appointment with someone else. You are doing your due diligence now and you will be well prepared and informed for your next meeting. Mrs B Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 10Jun 22, 2008 6:09 pm Thanks Mrs B,
I will speak to my CSC tomorrow and see what can be done. I'm simply not prepared to go contract with things as they are. They either give me another appointment or I'll walk away. Two days later and I'm still angry about it. Might be time for a vodka!! I'll keep you posted on the outcome. Jo I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 11Jun 23, 2008 9:35 am Hi Jo
Now I see why you had your previous sig last night!!! We are building with PD, bigger house, but still - they basically let us have what we asked for (everything's available for a price type of thing!!! ) We are almost to lock up, and DH decided he wants a fourth zone, and the company doing it told him that's fine - just get PD to put the paperwork through and they'll do whatever it is they have to do , wiring-wise! Glad to see you're feeling more calm! Solidarity, not solidity.......The Lexicon of Life Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 12Jun 23, 2008 9:37 am joles They either give me another appointment or I'll walk away. And if you put it in those terms I'd be tipping you get what you want....at that the end of the day they don't want to lose the sale. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 13Jun 23, 2008 9:41 am to_do_list joles They either give me another appointment or I'll walk away. And if you put it in those terms I'd be tipping you get what you want....at that the end of the day they don't want to lose the sale. I’m guessing they’ll say something along the lines of “watch that the door doesn’t hit your behind on the way out”. Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 14Jun 23, 2008 10:00 am The most surprising thing about all this is I WANTED to spend more money and they wouldn't let me!!! Maybe I wasn't even at a builder's appointment? I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 15Jun 23, 2008 10:03 am joles The most surprising thing about all this is I WANTED to spend more money and they wouldn't let me!!! Maybe I wasn't even at a builder's appointment? If you that desperate I'll PM you my bank account details...all donations welcome..... mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 16Oct 01, 2008 10:25 pm I'm having a similar experience as Joles.
I've just had our builder (M) tell me that you must have a minimum of 8 ducts open at any one time. (And therefore there is no point in zoning!) The unit is a Bonaire BV430IXA 4 star (gas heating & add on refrigerated cooling.) Bonaire's website does have minimum & maximum ducts specified, but gives no more details. It isn't clear what it all means in practice. The house is 32 square metres, with 13 ducts. Also, can you have more than 1 zone on at a time. i.e. select zone 1 & 3? Built Metr!con Soho. Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 17Oct 01, 2008 10:40 pm Dyson, with the Soho 32 floorplan, surely you can zone the minor bedrooms seperately? Depends who you get for your electrical.....
Zoning minor bedrooms would leave you with eight wouldn't it? We ended up getting two zones.... but I'm not the best person to be discussing M at the moment..... Where are you building Dyson? I love the Soho. Jo I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 18Oct 02, 2008 12:48 am If there is a limit of 8 ducts open at one time and up to 4 zones for this specific unit, here's what we might do: (note our sitting & bed 4 are home offices, bed 3 is rarely used at all)
ZONES 1 family / kitchen / dining, child retreat (5 ducts) 2 sitting, bed 4 (3 ducts) 3 home theatre (2 ducts) 4 bed 1, bed 2, bed 3 (3 ducts) I assume this means we could have these combinations: 1 family / kitchen / dining, child retreat (5 ducts) 2 sitting, bed 4 (3 ducts) *8 total ducts on or 1 family / kitchen / dining, child retreat (5 ducts) 4 bed 1, bed 2, bed 3 (3 ducts) *8 total ducts on or 1 family / kitchen / dining, child retreat (5 ducts) 2 sitting, bed 4 (3 ducts) 3 home theatre (2 ducts) *10 total ducts on or 2 sitting, bed 4 (3 ducts) 3 home theatre (2 ducts) 4 bed 1, bed 2, bed 3 (3 ducts) * 8 total ducts on or all 4 zones on. Can you manually close a vent in addition to using zoning? i.e. If 8 open are required and you manually shut 1 vent that is being zoned to is that OK? Yes, the Soho turned out to be the most flexible for us with it's various options. We're building in the South Eastern Suburbs, Melbourne. (Not sure if I want to be more specific than that at the moment.) Built Metr!con Soho. Re: Minimum vents for zoning ducted heating. 19Oct 04, 2008 1:21 am OK, I've had a good discussion with the Bonaire supplier directly. Yes there really is an issue with having less than 8 ducts on at anyone time. 7 would probably be OK. The vents will apparently pop off with too much pressure.
The zones I proposed were completely impractical to achieve in the duct work. Also the potential for someone in our house, at some point, would be to accidentally turn on a zone by itself which would not have the minimum 7 ducts open. The system isn't smart enough to safeguard against this. So here is what I've come up with now: Common Zone (always open) family / kitchen / dining, child retreat, sitting (7 ducts) Zone A Home Theatre (2) Zone B Bed 1, 2, 3 (3) Zone C Bed 4 (1) Built Metr!con Soho. retail its around double the price of a similar sized actron/dakin system from memory, They are excellent systems though. But with how builder gouge on AC/heating, you… 4 13792 My land is 260m2 (10m x 26m) located in claymore NSW. Under campbelltown council. I know in general the following setbacks would apply ground floor side setback =… 0 6936 Hi, only for walking. It is a narrow 1.5m paved area next to house. 2 5440 |